Friday, January 11, 2008

Divisional four-pack

Should be a great weekend of football. I don't recall four games with bigger spreads actuall enticing me. Each game has a great story line and plenty of talking points, and I think every one of the underdogs could not only cover but win outright -- yes, even Jacksonville. Here's what I'm looking at this weekend:

Seattle (+9, 43) at Green Bay -- Holmgren and Hasselback return to Lambeau to take on the aging but still brilliant Breffarve. Too bad this one isn't on NBC -- I'd love to count the number of times Madden puts on the old knee pads to discuss "Number 4." I just didn't like the way Hasselback looked last weekend, and if he's at all shaky, the Hawks are done. Packers 31, Seahawks 13

Jacksonville (+13.5, 49.5) at New England
-- Can the Patriots' streak continue? Will David Garrard wilt under the pressure? Will Mike Tice and Randy Moss meet before the game and send a fake-moonshot toward Lambeau? I like the Jags' running game and a big play or two from Maurice Jones-Drew to keep it close against the Pats, who don't have any individual records to play for and will be happy to just win comfortably, not blow out their opponent. Patriots 34, Jaguars 24

San Diego (+9.5, 45) at Indianapolis
-- Hmmm ... Norv Turner vs. Tony Dungy. Philip Rivers without Antonio Gates. The revenge factor for the Colts. This seems like the easiest pick on the board, which is why it scares me a little. But not that much. Colts 31, Chargers 16

New York Giants (+9, 46.5) at Dallas -- Over/under on the number of times we'll hear the old saw about beating a team three times in one season: 11.5. Over/under on Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson references: 14.5, or 22.5 if Joe Buck is involved in the broadcast (he has to show his pop culture cred if he's going to land that talk show gig). Either way, I like the Cowboys' defense to rattle Eli Manning, who played better last week but will not relish facing Dallas' blitz without his stud center and tight end to block and provide a checkdown option. Cowboys 38, Giants 27

Yep, I'm picking three favorites and four overs -- sounds like I'm the ultimate square, the guy all the sharks want to see walking up to the window with a fistful of Benjamins. Well, let's revisit this Sunday night and see who's laughing.

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